September, 2012 Archives

Watch the very first iPhone 5 unboxing in the world. I bet you wish you were there. 😉

UPDATE 2: Here’s a video of Jeromy Young (the illustrious CEO of Atomos – maker of the Ninja) showing the D600 + Ninja 2 combo working at 100% at Photokina: https://vimeo.com/49862540. Very promising! (Thanks for the links Cheesycam, Herbert & Chris). Looks like I’ve probably just missed something in the setup. I’ll update this post when I know more.

UPDATE 3: Atomos and I have been discussing this issue, and it appears there is no current resolution known on their end. Cheesycam noticed that the live view image in Jeromy’s Photokina video was not moving, and thus not actually being fed from the D600. It was a mistake on my part to assume the unit he had was working properly. At this point I would suggest that we all reach out to Nikon and inundate them with requests for a fix to the 95% output size problem and the live-vew aperture problem ASAP. Otherwise, this camera makes a lot less sense for a second shooter (at its current price point) in video work.

NIKON CONTACT INFO (inside the US):
support@nikontech.com
(800) 645-6687
http://support.nikonusa.com

UPDATE 4: Nikon has finally sent me a brief, albeit non-conclusive, response via email. See the post here: https://blog.iamron.com/photography/d600-update/

UPS just pulled up and dropped off a brand new D600 — the greatest thing since the D800. I have to say, right out of the box, the camera looks and feels like a precision machine. Nikon really pulled out all the stops on this “budget camera”, at least on the surface. Even in the IQ department, it seems they have outdone themselves. And of course, being a hybrid photo/video shooter (more than ever these days), I was thrilled to have a third option in Nikon’s lineup for a serious VSLR.

I was very pleased to hear at the time of the announcement that the camera supports uncompressed HDMI out just like the D800. So, you can imagine my horror (and surprise) when, after diving into all the settings, I connect my D600 to the Ninja 2 and see a black frame around the entire frame. What?!?! Could it be that they REALLY only offer 95% display output size, and not the 100% output size found on the D800 and D4? At first blush it appears so. I cannot find anything online to contradict this conclusion, and certainly can’t see anything in the settings (nor in the manual) that offer a fix.

I would hate to think this is nothing more than Nikon crippling this body so it doesn’t “cannibalize” their D800 sales – that could very well qualify this as Nikon’s worst “best camera” ever. I hope it’s simply an oversight (or a bug), as it is a detail they should be making VERY clear for users BEFORE they drop $2k+ on Nikon’s latest camera.

I’ll keep digging around and see if I can prove myself wrong. I’m hoping I can, because if so, this camera could be an amazing thing. Do you have the D600 and an external recording device such as the Ninja? If so, what has your experience been like?

See those black bars around the perimeter of the Ninja screen? Not a pretty sight at all!

UPDATE 1: It looks like Nikon knows about the problem, at least if this cryptic message is to be understood as a warning of this phenomenon. This is just weird (notice the footnote):

This does not inspire confidence…

Nikon D600

September 16th, 2012 Permalink

Well, the time has come once again when Nikon has opened up its treasure chest and pulled out another treat for photographer-filmmakers everywhere. And what have the gear gods delivered this time? None other than the much anticipated Nikon D600, a compact little 24-megapixel full-framed (FX) camera body that seems to be in a class of its own. It seems safe to assume this camera is carving out an entirely new spot in Nikon’s lineup, much like the D700 did four years ago.

Many have said this is a big D7000, and some have said this is a baby D800. My gut tells me the D600 leans more toward the latter, though it’s unclear exactly which side of that line this camera sits for those of us who haven’t been lucky enough to hold one yet. All the same, we’ll see what makes this camera tick in a few days once Nikon is purported to actually ship these bodies. No doubt there will be a flurry of figures, facts, and reviews in the coming weeks, virtual fodder for gear geeks everywhere. Hang tight, and you might just read a few of those juicy nuggets here. 😉

In the meantime, check out this little chart I worked up showing the differences in body size between the D7000, the D600, and the D800. Feel free to pass it around or re-post as you see fit.